Hasta La Creative!

Sauza Tequila had a major hit last year with its "Make It With a Fireman" video, starring Thomas Beaudoin—which reached No. 15 on YouTube's list of the 20 most watched ads of 2012. The Jim Beam brand had a similar campaign planned for 2013, featuring a lifeguard. But then, days before the big reveal, it saw its surprise new spokesman, the hunky Anderson Davis … doing ads for Kraft Zesty Italian salad dressing in quite a similar style. Both campaigns show Davis talking suggestively to the camera as he mixes up, respectively, salads and margaritas.

Lewis Lazare has more details here. Beam says it knew nothing about the Kraft work, which launched Monday. And the liquor maker is now scrambling to make sure its lifeguard ad doesn't get lost in the shuffle—it's launched the spot now instead of the planned April 15. A Beam rep tells Adweek: "Well, they say imitation is the best form of flattery. And apparently one company believes nothing goes better with Sauza margaritas than a zesty salad. I know you're familiar with the videos that Kraft just launched. … The success of our 'Make It' campaign has opened the door for other companies to do the same—even with the same moves and the same actor who plays our lifeguard. You be the judge…"

The Kraft work has gotten quite a bit of attention, including this Good Morning America segment. And that has put Beam in the odd position of actually drafting off the Kraft success as it introduces the lifeguard. "How do you like your @Sauza #margaritas? #Zesty, we hope," Sauza tweeted on Wednesday night.

Having launched its work first, Kraft, not surprisingly, doesn't seem too stressed out about the whole thing, even giving Davis a shout-out. "It's noted in his biography he was working with Sauza, but we didn't know any specifics about the campaign," a Kraft spokeswoman says. "We think Anderson has done a terrific job for us on Kraft Zesty dressing."

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“Kiss Me” – Sixpence None the Richer

Hockey! Remember that? Of course you don’t. Well, I’m here, along with my pals at NBC, to remind you that hockey is indeed still a thing. In fact, due to a controversial lockout and a condensed schedule, the NHL playoffs are starting at the end of the month, and NBC has exclusive broadcasting rights! Surely, this will be what just what NBC needed to get out of its ratings slump.

From Minneapolis-based agency mono comes two new spots previewing the race for the Stanley Cup. “First Kiss” (above) reminds hockey fans that, after the Stanley Cup is won, it is tradition for hockey players to kiss the giant trophy. No joshing, that is what professional hockey players do! You don’t want to miss something like that, do you?

A second spot, “Get Weird,” depicts hockey fans’ colorful outfits they wear to NHL games. Really, what other sport has a fanbase that wears face paint and silly clothing to one of its events? In public, no less?!?

TV viewers, you do NOT want to miss the NHL playoffs! Take NBC’s word for it.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The V&A is to fund an Absolute Radio documentary, which will elaborate on displays from the museum’s current ‘David Bowie Is’ exhibition.

It’s not easy to enter a streaming video market dominated by Netflix. But Redbox and Verizon believe there’s still white space to challenge established SVOD players.

So after a beta test in December, the companies made Redbox Instant widely available starting last month, offering subscribers a hybrid package of streaming movies and four nights of kiosk DVD rentals for $8 a month.

While Netflix and Hulu offer a variety of TV programming, the core Redbox Instant offering is its mix of films from MGM, Paramount and Lionsgate coupled with older classics. There’s also an option to rent or buy new releases for an additional fee that aren’t available as part of the subscription.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

On the day that Facebook is expected to announce the Facebook phone, it is being predicted that almost 30% of all mobile display ads will go to the social network this year.

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